The WFRA Championships and Series are
sponsored by
Inov-8 and
Cotswold Outdoor. Cotswold Outdoor
offer a very good discount to WFRA members.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership for 2018 now being accepted
The Welsh Fell Runners Association (WFRA) is an independent organisation providing the following services
to fell/mountain runners in Wales – an annual race calendar, website, Open Championships, Civil Liability
insurance for members (including Race Organisers). Annual membership is £10. The membership year runs
from January 1st to December 31st. If you join after 1st October your membership will last until the
end of the following year.
You can now pay your annual membership fee through the Fabian4 website. Click here to go to online payment. Online payments for 2018 membership now being accepted.
If you wish to pay by cheque, complete a membership form and send it together with payment to the Membership Secretary at the address shown on the form. Download the 2018 membership form here.
There is also a standing order payment system for renewals. If you wish to set up a standing order for membership renewal payments, please contact the Membership Secretary for details, sandra@wfra.org.uk

2018 WFRA Wales and Borders Race Calendar
This is a comprehensive Calendar, containing details of most Fell races
in Wales and the Borders. The Calendar is free
to paid-up members. Members, who have renewed their membership for 2018, will automatically be
sent a copy. Non members can obtain a copy for £8.00 from Sandra Rowlands. Cheques payable to
‘Welsh Fell Runners Association’.
Please enclose a C5 size(162mm x 229mm)
SAE with standard first or second class postage.

2018 Race Calendar
Many thanks to all race organisers for making this year’s calendar compilation relatively painless. Please see the Events page for details of this year’s races.
Should you wish to change details of your race or have a new race to register then please contact me on wfracal@gmail.com
(Form WFRA 2018 Calendar Form.docx or WFRA 2018 Calendar Form.pdf should help for a new registration).

Eskdale Elevation, Fron Four and Tue series
BLACK MOUNTAINS FELL RACE is now to be organised by Helen Brown (helen@wfra.org.uk). Entries will still be processed by Crispin Flower via Mynydd Du website. We apologise that the Calendar contains incorrect information on the entry fee, which should be £8 pre-entry, and £10 on the day.

During the few days leading up to the race I warned prospective competitors about the forecast adverse weather conditions, specifically the likelihood of very
poor visibility and low temperatures – and this forecast proved to be correct. Despite this warning, 31 runners turned up and assured me that they
were navigationally competent…….. well, the evidence suggests otherwise.
Torpantau and its environs presents a featureless terrain requiring people
to take great care as it’s all too easy to go astray, and so it proved with a gaggle of runners deciding to visit Cairn Pica (I believe), with others
finding the checkpoints more by luck than judgement. There was no chance of any records being broken today with times slower than those normally expected.

Thanks as always to my stalwart marshals, Derek Thornley who got exceedingly wet crouched down on Cribyn and Dave Austin who had slightly more cover on
Fan y Big and Gareth Jones who, as sweeper, tried to shepherd the runners along the correct course.

Full snow conditions didn't put off 47 intrepid fell runners who braved the course for the 14th running of the Pipe Dream race.
Records certainly weren't threatened this year, but there was still some fierce competition at the front, with Elliot Cox of Buckley
and Michael Corrales of NWRRC neck and neck all the way round. Elliot took the win with his superier road speed at the very end.

The rest of the field came back on a high after a racing experience that was probably a first for many. Although the racing line was
well trampled most people will have found a few deep drifts to slow them down, and falling into one whilst wearing shorts is not
an every day occurrence!

Despite weather forecasts of -11 deg. wind-chill, high winds and heavy snow showers, a window of quieter weather heralded the start of the Pen Tir Drop Fell race.
Strong breezes on the tops, still afforded fine views of the surrounding snowy hills. Conditions were slippery after the recent rain but no heroics through the briar patch this year,
just muddy legs. Only after the last runners returned, did the snow showers return ! 41 runners set off (29 men and 12 women) and 41 returned to devour the fine
range of cakes that co-organiser Karen had home-baked. Many thanks again to Kay and Martin Lucas for marshalling on the hill, especially Kay who was at the chilly
turnaround point, Andy Creber for organising the car park and Rob Brown for manning the road gate.

With a cloud-base of less than a hundred metres and driving rain all morning this year’s Tarrenhendre race was less of a spectator sport than it might be but the runners at the end certainly provided a spectacle! The rain eased up shortly after the start but the going which had been soft the day before was decidedly sloppy especially on the steep peaty descent through the forest. Of the 82 runners those who sank to their knees stayed upright, the rest skidded backwards or managed spectacular face-plants.

Not a day for records but Gareth Wyn Jones (Mercia) had a fine battle with local hero Tom Roberts (Meirionnydd RC) finishing in 53:15 just 13 seconds ahead with Russel Bentley, third, in 54:23. This was the second battle of the day for the trio who were the first three home in the Dolgellau Parkrun earlier in the day!

The women’s race was won by Eryri’s Miranda Grant in 63:06 from Katie Beecher (Les Croupiers) 64:53 and Sian Williams of Rhedwyr Hebog in 65:57.

The Club would like to thank everyone who made the race possible, volunteers, landowners, mountain rescue and of course the runners. Diolch o galon.

Regards
Arfon Hughes
Meirionnydd Running Club

The second run of the Conwy Mountain Race was made interesting by the weather. Snowfall in many parts of North Wales, including the coastline of Conwy, made for a chilly start to the day while marking the course, but as the day went on the temperature warmed up and melted the snow.

This, followed by rain, made some parts of the course very slippery and fun. Some morning emails from the Denbigh and Cheshire area asking if the race was still going ahead due to snowy roads suggested a low turnout but as registration opened a steady 47 runners signed up to take on the Conwy Hills.

The race kicked off at 1pm with a mix of both new and familiar faces and a notably strong turnout from Black Combe Runners.
The male race saw a close battle between the top 4 runners with Matthew Fortes (Eryri) taking the lead on the last gentle climb and heading for a win with a time of 46:29, closely followed by James Bowden (Hunters Bog Trotters) in 46:47. Completing the podium positions was Josh Hartley (Black Combe Runners) finishing in a time of 47:48, one second ahead of Tristan Evans (Merrionydd RC) who was leading the race coming off the last summit until he hurt himself and lost his lead on the last slippery descent, to finish fourth overall.

The ladies race wasn’t quite so close as Lizzie Brown (Black Combe Runners) put in an impressive performance and raced really strongly to finish first lady and fifth overall, with a time of 48:49 – smashing the course record by 7 minutes 46 seconds. In second place one of our local ladies, Becki Law (Eryri), finished in 64:06 and to wrap up the top three we had Jenny Williamson (Eryri) with a time of 69:02.

After the race, most runners headed to Race HQ at The Old Whitehouse, where we saw competitors take on an even bigger battle to get close to the fire and warm up with a cup of tasty soup where the presentation followed.
A big thanks to all the marshals for standing for hours in the wind and rain, The Old Whitehouse for letting all the stinky, muddy runners in (including myself) and of course all the runners for coming and making the event possible.

The fifth running of the Craig yr Allt Winter Fell Race was greeted with threats of heavy rain. Whilst registration was a little damp, the race was greeted
with only a cloudy dry sky and a temperature of 5 degrees Centigrade. 92 participants signed up for the race; many familiar faces but also several new faces
that were keen to give fell running a go. This was the perfect race for them. Like in previous years, the organiser had signed the 6.3km course to enable those
that cannot read a map to participate.

The race organiser and other volunteers spent approximately 8 man hours leading up to the race day, cutting back the dense vegetation which had advanced onto
the race route to enable this race to go ahead. The mild winters in recent years is causing race organisers another challenge!

Despite the most slippery course conditions in the five-year history of the race, Peter Ryder (Clwb Rhedwyr Brycheiniog) won the race in 30m 00s which was
only 50s slower than his course record set in 2015 when it was dry; a fantastic effort. Daniel Bodman (Aberdare) was over a minute behind (31m 03s) and Andrew
Tuckey (Bridgend AC) finished third in 31m 16s.

A healthy start to a new race saw 77 athletes take to the fells on Mynydd Llangors. Visibility was good, the ground had dried out somewhat after the snow. Always promising to be a fast race, with no time to relax if you were ‘in it to win it’!
A strong competitive field, route choice between CP1 and CP2, combined with a very steep and fast descent to the finish line meant we were all excited to see who would take the course records in the women’s and men’s races.

Dan Bodman from Aberdare reached the summit in a swift time of 18.02. We witnessed him flying down the mountain being chased by local athlete Evan Davies, summit time 18.55. Evan took chase never allowing Dan to relax. We saw Dan glance over his shoulder and just make it to the finish line with seconds between them!

In the women’s race,
Mynydd du’s Helen Brown comfortably took the course record but not without excitement either ! Helen reached the summit in a time of 21.11 then proceeded to also fly down the mountain. She came into view chasing the opposition, fellow Mynydd Du athlete Michael Cope and Brecon AC Peter Sowerby finishing a strong 14th overall !!!

I think it’s fair to say a good day was had by all and the race was a success. See you next year !

A heavy snow fall the day before race followed by an overnight thaw ensured this year’s Plunge from Moel Famau to the Golden Lion, Llangynhafal was both a muddy and a slippery affair. It was a challenge for runners to stay upright for the whole of the descent, as was evidenced by some mud plastered legs and kit at the finish line.

In spite of the conditions, Michael Corrales (North Wales Road Runners) was the first runner home in 11.08m, a quicker time that he won the race last year on a much firmer course. Stephen Skates (Prestatyn) crossed the line in second place (11.47m) followed by Gary House (Runstrong) in third (12.09m)

Hayley Evans (Buckley) was first lady in 14.18m, followed by Lisa Grantham (Pensby) 16.00m and local runner Victoria Whitehead (Outfit) 16.01m

Many thanks to the marshals who made the race possible and to the supporters for their much appreciated cheering

The conditions leading up to the race had been typical for this time of year, with a frost on the ground arriving just in time to make conditions that little more interesting.

103 runners set off on the night, all with a chance of winning one of the festive prizes up for grabs.

First back was Michael Corrales, NWRRC in a time of 24.16, just short of last year’s course record of 24.02. Second over the line was regular Tom Hiles, u/a in 25.15. Young superstar and local athlete Ifan Oldfield took the third spot on the podium in a time of 26.48, beating his dad by over 11 minutes !

Emlyn Owen, Eryri, won V40 in 28.53. Martyn Witty won the V50 prize in 31.34 for Deeside, with Buckleys Chris Wilcox taking the V60 prize in 31.36. Pete Roberts won the V70 category in a time of 35.35, running for Buckley.

In the ladies race, Gemma Moore, also NWRCC, took top spot in an impressive time of 29.57. Hayley Evans for Buckley runners was second in 30.06 and Eryri’s Emma Morgan finished third in 34.24.

A Big thank you, as ever, goes out to all the helpers, marshals, sweepers and our hosts One Planet Adventure, who without we would not be able to run the series. Safety cover again was provided by the fantastic NEWSAR.

Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes. We will hopefully see you for the final round on 19th January 2018.

Sadly, a grumpy hillwalker/farmer/commoner decided to sabotage our painstakingly set course of over 200 reflective markers. Two sections of the route amounting to about 200m had all the markers removed and then stacked about a mile away.

All markers went up from 3:00pm and were then stripped by us before 9:00pm. Notices were placed at the start of walks to the hill explaining the markers, stating they’d be removed the same night. The NT too had done their bit in forewarning locals.
It seems though, that the event upset someone. Possibly someone who spends too much time in the company of sheep? Next year, if we put the event on again we will mitigate for ‘grumpy bod’ with ninja marshals,
electrified permanent paint spraying markers and surveillance drones toting poisoned darts – OK I may have made up some or all of those ideas.

It is worth noting though, how the ensuing melee amongst the leaders as they ran up and down the hill in confusion, caused by the removed signage near the start, created much animated
banter both after the event and on social media. Dare I say, the event was enjoyed more because of the sabotage? (I think I have an idea for a new kind of fell race). The Strava Flyby
certainly makes for entertaining viewing. Another thing to ponder is that the mid-pack all found their way, and certainly everyone at the back stayed totally on track. Is there a message here?

Thanks though to the ninety plus hill loving runners that turned up. It was a special night with clear skies and twinkling stars above, and fine views down to the sodium glow of Abergavenny below.
Thanks also to Tosh for some great photos – did the runners save you a mince pie? And finally, thanks to the 3 musketeers who went back up the mountain to locate the temporarily misplaced last runner.

Sadly, the results must be classed null and void, but are published to provide information for the individuals taking part. Only they know if they went the right way and whether their time is truly valid. Don’t believe what they say!

For our next Night Race event in the hills – Blorenge Roundabout - Wed 14th March 2018 we aim to deploy some of the aforementioned special measures to protect the route. I’m off now to round up a posse.

It doesn’t seem long since we finished the last ‘Dash in the Dark’ series at Coed Llandegla.
Last Friday, and ten months later, the waiting was over as we saw the return of the Dash race series and
Coed Llandegla. We also saw the return of some of the familiar and happy faces we have come to know.

As the darker nights drew in and the weather worsened it was back to business for the trail hardy.

Hayley Evans from Buckley runners took the ladies win in an impressive time of 24.22. Second on the night was Lizzie Irvine , Otley AC in 30.39 and third was Kirsty Seddon , Chester Tri in 33.33.

In the men’s race, running for Prestatyn RC and chasing the course record, was Stephen Skates in a time of 24.22. just 14 seconds off the record ! Second in the men’s race was Ryan Davis, Wrexham AC in a time of 25.16 and third place taken comfortably by Tom Hiles , u/a in 25.29.

The ladies V40 went to Mandy Peffers for CRR in 34.50 and V50 winner was Jan Rogers for Chester Tri in 37.57.

The men’s V40 winner was Mathew Fortes ( 4th overall) from Eryri in 26.37, V50 was Buckley’s very own Steve Toogood in 27.47 , V60 was Geoff Pettit u/a in 39.50 and V70 went to Pete Roberts Buckley in 36.50.

Big thanks goes out to One Plant Adventure for hosting the event and NEWSAR for providing support out in the forest.

See you all for the next round on Friday 1st December.

Please note that all helpers, marshals, time keepers, planners and route markers are volunteers. Without whom the Dash in the Dark series simply would not happen. A massive THANK YOU goes out to them. Thanks for giving up your time to contribute to a fantastic series of night time trail races. The original and STILL the best

39 competitors braved low cloud and soggy conditions to find their way around the Mynydd Du and Llyn y
Fan Fawr this weekend: 5.5 miles with an ample 2342 ft of climb.

Dan Doherty (Mynydd Du) led from the start (see video clip on our Facebook page -WFRA and other local races
- thanks to Kean Rowlands for some interesting viewing and commentary!).
Reports at the finish reflected that during the race no one seemed to have a clue where anyone else was
and people emerged from all kinds of unexpected directions at the end.
Dan lost his lead to Jez Brown (Buckley) who was back in 50.06 (course record now set) who seemed
surprised to be first back, as Dan got slightly misplaced in the cloud.

Hayley Evans (again of Buckley)
was first lady home in 63.06 (course record) having shaken off her rivals who had headed off away in the
clag in some other direction than the finish line. Well done Jez and Hayley.
2nd woman home was Rhian Probert and 3rd Rona Davies (both Mynydd Du).
2nd man Dan Doherty (Mynydd Du) and 3rd man Matt Stott (MDC). Well done all.

Category winners for the women were as follows:
Naomi Law (over 40), Bev Tucker (over 50), both Mynydd Du.
And for the men:
Billy Starling (under 23), Dan Sandford (over 40), Paul Tucker (over 50), John Aggleton
(over 60), John Morris (over 70).
Well done all. Great to see some fantastic adventurous running from young and old. Inspiring.
Thanks to our stalwart marshal on the hill Caz the Hat (Carwyn Phillips) and John Darby who did a
great job trying to sweep a dispersed field!
See you next year. Diolch pawb.
Sasha Habgood.

Final counter in the WFRA Open Champs and SW series.
12 noon start in the carpark 1.5miles east of Llandeusant Youth Hostel (follow signs to Llyn y Fan)
£5 on day only, FULL KIT..Please car share if possible as car parking is limited and allow lots of
time for the lanes.
Prize giving and WFRA AGM, food, cakes and hot drinks in Llandeusant Village Hall SA19 9YB
(possible to park carefully on road if carpark full).
Please note this is a new race route so a recce is recommended. See you there! Sasha Habgood
07901808537

The 15th running of this opener to the Meirionnydd Winter Series took place on Saturday November 4th
with the first snow forecast for that evening. After a very wet night conditions improved from 9 am
and the race was run in lovely if cool autumn sunshine. 61 contenders took up the challenge no doubt
all dreaming of the whole Aran Lamb to be shared by the series winners in March (this might be true if
there wasn’t a record of many of the winners being vegetarian!). Going underfoot was from wet to
treacherous and there were many fallers but no injuries.
The men’s race honours were shared amongst the masters. Achille Rattis’ Mark Palmer took the lead
just after the stile at Bwlch Goriwared on the ascent and held it to take a win in 54:20 just under
2 minutes outside his 2015 M50 course record. M40 Jez Brown (Buckley) followed him in 54:45 and
Mathew Fortes (Eryri) also M40 was third in 54:55, some 12 seconds ahead of the first senior
Tristan Evans of organisers Meirionnydd RC.

In the women’s race Katie Beecher of Les Croupiers was first in 1:04:37, followed by Hayley Evans
of Buckley (1:05:58) and Katie Cole running for No-mad Running in 1:10:20.

Masters prizes went to Richard Price (Sedgly Striders) 1:09:24; Dyfed Thomas (Eryri) 57:51; Louise Barker
(Aberystwyth AC) 1:16:47; Dave Powell also of Aberystwyth AC (1:06:47; Iwan Edgar (Eryri) 1:07:49
and Amanda Purves of the Mysteries in 1:24:16. Buckley scooped the team prize. There was one
retirement who was able to descend without assistance so there are 60 runners in with a
chance of the Series prize. The next race is Tarrenhendre on Jan 27th with its three super
steep climbs and terrific boggy forest descent, after which its not over……

Another successful year for this race which was enjoyed by all and we were pleased to see some of our regular runners returning.
A challenging race with atmospheric conditions on the tops with a bit of rain and mist. Thank you to the marshalls.
First home with a new course record was Jez Brown(M/O40) of Buckley runner 50.29 and the first woman again was Susan Fourie (F/O40) 64.03 from Chester Tri Club.
Everyone enjoyed hot drinks, soup, bacon butties and cake in the cafe at the end of the run. Thank you to all the runners who supported us as the funds help to keep our community centre running.
Hope to see you next year, date to be confirmed. More photos and results on Canolfan Ceiriog centre website.

Peris Horseshoe sat 9th September 2017

The Start..............Photos by SJ Photography

The lead group heading out

Full Peris winner Gareth Wyn Hughes at Pen y Pass

Every race report should begin with something along the lines of “The sun shone and the sky was blue as I drew back the curtains on the morning of race day”, but this is fell running in North Wales and the 2017 edition of The Peris Horseshoe was definitely more a case of “it was hammering down, the sky was dark and brooding and low cloud covered all the summits as I drew back the curtains”!!

The conditions were challenging to say the least, however, there was the usual fell runner response of “it wasn’t that bad” from most and an appreciation that it was far worse for the marshals who were out there. The first of the two starts saw the Half Peris runners and Early Full Peris starters take on the challenge of the climb up to Elidir Fawr before progressing to Y Garn and Glyder Fawr, then tackling the descent to Pen y Pass where cake would be waiting. Gonks Hughes (Hebog) made the early running amongst the men in the Half, closely followed by Shaun Davies (Eryri) and Steve Toogood (Buckley) to the summit of Elidir Fawr. Shaun then took the lead and led over Y Garn and began the descent from Glyder Fawr with an 18 second head start on Gonks. I’m told by Shaun that Gonks then basically hurled himself down to Pen y Pass! Gonks taking the win in 2:00:56 by 29 seconds from Shaun (2:01:25). Steve Toogood was 3rd and 1st MV50 (2:04:28) just over 15 minutes ahead of 4th place and another MV50 Russell Owen (Eryri). Dave Tait was 1st MV70 (2:41:00)

In the ladies race the pattern was set early on. Jennifer Charlton was first to clear Elidir Fawr and never looked like relinquishing her lead finishing 6th overall (2:20:10). Jennifer had been 4th overall to Glyder Fawr, two men just passing her on the descent. Jenny Heming (Eryri) was second (2:25:53) and Joanne Cliffe 3rd (2:29:07). It should also be noted that the first three ladies are FV40’s. Ellie Salisbury (Eryri) 1st FV50 (2:57:42) and it was good to see her have a good/happy race after some recent challenges.

65 were in the main start for the Full Peris chasing down the 10 early starters. As a counter in both the WFRA Open Welsh & North Wales Championships we certainly reaped that benefit with a larger field than normal. In the men’s race Gareth Wyn Hughes (Mercia) showed everyone a clean pair of heels. Passing over Elidir Fawr with almost a minutes lead this steadily grew and had opened up to 5 minutes at Pen y Pass, where according to the marshals he was ‘absolutely flying’. By the finish Gareth had opened up an 11 minute gap on second place for a comfortable win. Behind him things were a bit different with Dan Doherty (Mynydd Du) and Max Wainwright (Helsby) trading blows throughout. Dan took an early lead only for Max to pass him just before Pen y Pass. Dan was back in front by the summit of Y Lliwedd, only for Max to lead over Snowdon and the final summit of Moel Cynghorion with a 7 second gap. A straight shoot out on the descent of Moel Cynghorion followed with Dan beating Max to the line by a measly 3 seconds! Dan (3:38:02), Max (3:38:05). Amazing racing over 3 ½ hours! Chris Near showed his European sabbatical hasn’t diminished his fell running abilities finishing 4th overall and a comfortable 1st MV40 (3:52:55). 1st MV50 was Barry Wilkinson (Borrowdale Fell Runners) (4:06:18) finishing 11th overall. Iwan Edgar (Eryri) was 1st MV60 (5:08:19).

Multiple winner Andrea Rowlands (Eryri) took an early lead over Elidir but was hauled in by Hayley Evans (Buckley Runners) who held a slender advantage over Glyder Fawr. Andrea took the lead again on the descent to Pen y Pass and held Hayley off for the rest of the race to win once again by just over 3 minutes (4:22:50) with Hayley 2nd (4:26:07). Lou Beetlestone was a creditable 3rd finishing one place overall behind Hayley (4:33:12). Andrea was also 1st FV40.

Lots of thanks are required and I hope I don’t miss anyone! Firstly the marshals who braved the weather: Geoff Fielding, Helen Blair, Paul Jenkinson, Nick Johns, Hazel & Brian Robbins, Maggie & Alwyn Oliver, Hayley Turner, John Humphries, Peter Lewis, Trefor & Linda, Mike Blake, Kean & Sandra Rowlands, James McQueen who were out on the course. Anne & Sharon what would we do without you! Sorted registration then up to the finish for a stint under umbrellas in occasional driving rain! Thank you ladies. Adrian and Ellie (Fabian 4) for sorting the timing and results through the RaceTek system (and managed to do the Half Peris). Electric Mountain for hosting us. First Hydro for continued support. A massive thanks to Snowdon Mountain Railway for the array of prizes donated it’s massively appreciated each year, as is the transportation of water to the summit of Snowdon. Thanks to Joe and Edgar for permission to cross their land, hopefully a good relationship can be maintained in future years also. Thanks to YHA Pen y Pass for space and a table to set up the feed station and to the National Park Wardens for use of the wi-fi for our timing system.

As in each year a special thanks goes to Mike Blake. Despite handing over the reins to the Peris 3 years ago he remains a big part of the organization of the race and the relationships he has built up over many years are invaluable. Next year is Mike’s 70th birthday and I know he intends to run so perhaps we should have a party to celebrate?

In my brief post following I forgot (shockingly!) to thank everyone who brought cake! I can confirm that every last piece was eaten and not by me before you ask! There have been several comments how welcome it was at both Pen y Pass and back at the event centre. It’s become a part of the race now and hopefully something that will continue for many years, so again thank you and my apologies for missing this out earlier.

Finally, to the runners thank you. Your continued support keeps the race alive and long may that continue.

Well, after last year’s wind, rain, mist & poor visibility across the ‘bog of doom’, weather conditions reverted to what we normally expect for this cracking race, so once again, we were graced with sunny, clear conditions, & absolutely stunning views. 58 runners started & finished the race (as of course did Elsi, the best Diabetic Assistance Dog in the world – shame she doesn’t have the treatment of her owner’s cramp in her repertoire, as well as low blood sugars…..). As always, the feedback has all been excellent, with many comments about our fantastic marshals, the post-race homemade flapjacks & soup, & the amazing prizes. There was also great enthusiasm for Racetek, Fabian4’s partner company, which provided the timing/tracking service. The results were on the computer screen at HQ as soon as the runners had passed over the line, as well as on the web for all to see. No hand-writing names & times on sheets of A4 paper or even filling in spread sheets this year – long may it last!

The race was won by GOG Tri’s Gavin Roberts, in a time of 1:18:16, with Helsby’s Max Wainwright hot on his heels in 1:18:48, & NWRRs’ Mark Davies third, & first MV40 in 1:21:04, only 3 seconds slower than his time last year, so obviously fully recovered from his successful escapades on the Dragon’s Back Race. There were two Eryri finishers in the top ten, with MV40 Johnny Moore finishing in fifth place in 1:25:01, & James McQueen tenth, & first local in 1:31:05. Fourth overall & second MV40 was Buckley’s Simon Edwards in 1:24:14, first MV50 in 1:36:03 was Eryri’s Emlyn Roberts, & first MV60 was back-on-form Eilir Evans, beating all the MV50s in a great time of 1:33:18. It’s interesting that like last year, & the year before, there were only 6 senior men in the first twenty finishers. Where are all the ‘youngsters’?!

The first lady across the line nineteenth overall was NWRRs’ Gemma Moore in 1:37:49. The next two ladies to finish, both Eryri FV40s, were Megan Hughes in 1:41:37 & Lesley Lawton in 1:44:53. There were three Eryri finishers in the top ten, the third being local Becki Law, in 1:51:27. The first FV50 in 1:55:27 was Helsby’s Janet Robertson. Mention must be made of the most successful family of the day, who scooped three prizes between them: fifth lady overall & second senior was Denbigh Harriers’ Katy Baugh in 1:50:10, second MV50 in 1:37:59 was Dad - David Baugh, & second FV50 was Mum - Menai Baugh in 2:12:47.

My sincere thanks go to my co-organisers, Maggie Oliver & Alex Fletcher, & to all the many marshals and helpers, who as always gave their time willingly, & without whom we would not have been able to safely organise the race. We are very grateful for the grant provided by Penmaenmawr Town Council, which, as well contributing to the prize fund, enabled us to provide the runners with soup & a roll after the race & the marshals with a drink of their choice at the bar. The very-well received prizes compromised fresh produce bags, some of which was very generously provided FOC by Spar Penmaenmawr, & the rest at a kindly reduced rate by Spar & Pen’s Becws Alun, & apples & runner beans donated by friends. Fletcher & Poole Estate Agents kindly printed our maps, & we were also very generously given a ‘Breakfast for Two’ voucher by Eryri’s Paul Hodges, owner of Siabod Café, which was presented to Wirral AC’s Anne Rosbottom – the 40th runner to arrive at Tal y Fan summit. This seemed an appropriate way to use the voucher with its being Eryri Harriers’ 40th anniversary year. We also owe a huge vote of thanks, as always, to the staff of the Gladstone pub for their hospitality & cooperation, & for providing a meal voucher as a prize for the first local runner.

A small financial contribution will be given to the WFRA, & I’m pleased to announce that we will be able to donate £370 to the Snowdonia Society snowdonia-society.org.uk , which does such valuable work, for which those of us who enjoy the mountains on a regular basis are most grateful.
Ellie Salisbury (Race Organiser)

The lovely Carmarthen Fells are a rarely visited part of the Brecon Beacons – no gravel pathways, burger vans, or ‘tourist snake’
ascending the fells as you may find elsewhere. This makes for a quiet and remote running experience with few paths to follow other than sheep trods. Nice!

The Tafarn Y Garreg is a good race HQ and makes a great starting point for several hill adventures. After the race we lazed outside in the sunny, Greek styled Taverna and consumed the provided bruschetta and chips.

Thanks to Richard Cronin (sweep), Dave Austin, Dil and John Vernon the summit marshals and Gill Stott the photographer.

First ran in 1960 and every year since 1973 the race forms the centre piece of the village show. The route heads straight up Moel Famau from the showground entrance and back via the north spur.

Mountain was in its finest colours for the 147 runners who took part in this years race in warm & dry conditions. First up and down the mountain was Phil Robertson (Wirral AC)
in a time of 33m18s. Lucinda Lamb became Ladies Champion with a time of 40m24s.

A small group of leading chase runners managed to take a "long-cut" just coming off the open fell losing valuable time to the leader.

O40 Gent, Gareth Williams (Vale Royal) came in 4th overall at 36m59s with O50 Gent, Steve Toogood (Buckley Runners) just behind in 5th at 37m08s. Massive
apologies to O70 winner John Morris with the certificate being wrongly assigned - this will be corrected along with a bottle of plonk.

Local winners were Steve Brady (Local & Local O40) and Hayley Evans (Local & winner of the fancy dress competition which we are thinking of renaming after her multiple wins).

Junior Mountain Race
We had 70 juniors run across the 5 age categories. A last minute issue with a crop of swedes meant an alternate finish for these races but all went well. We still need to work
out a better time keeping system as we managed to miss times for 5 runners which we apologise for but our sysem of identifying category winners at least worked well. Introduced
this year was a longer race for the U16 age category which now sees the runners head up on to the main mountain.

Ed Woodhead was the winner of the U16 Boys Crittal Cup in 19m25s with Betty Hughes taking the U16 Girls Snodgrass Cup.

Special thanks to the village helpers and North East Wales Search & Rescue team who once again made sure folks stayed safe for both junior & senior races.
RO John Heppenstall

Helen Brown well on her way to claiming a course record at the Four Fans.

PENMAENMAWR FELL RACE

10 miles/1950ft.
Saturday 18th November. Time of the race is 10:30 start with registration possible from 9am.
Kit check 10:15 ( full kit likely to be needed – more info later ) Capelulo Village Hall, Dwygyfylchi.
£8 to enter and you MUST PRE-ENTER at
www.fabian4.co.uk
No Junior race.
This year we will once again be having transport provided from the 3 car parks at the top of
the Sychnant pass ( both before and after the race ). But, as always with this race, it’s the
parking that causes problems for us. There will be police in the village again and we’d urge
people to share transport where possible .
Any offers from club members to marshal would be most welcome & appreciated!
Please contact me via e-mail : chrisnear123@gmail.com, or on my mobile : 07825867752
Must use carparks at: GR754769, 759769, 749770

The story so far. Registration will be in the Padarn Lake Hotel in the centre of Llanberi...s GR579601 from 9am.
There WILL be entry on the day but a postal one to get to me by Friday will keep the work down Sat morning
and save you 40/-.There will be no runners parking at the Padarn Lake and is sparse in the village
but there is loads of free parking by the lagoons GR573607 and will be indicated by running arrows
from east and west directions and only a 5 minute walk from the Hotel, EARLY START, 10.30 am,
with the men's record @ 1.24.53 and the ladies @ 1.37.09 if you do not feel confident of getting
round in under 3 hours then you are advised to take advantage of this as there will be a cut off
at CP8 the gate @ Bwlch Y Groes of 2.45. ACCOMMODATION, The Padarn Lake do B&B and the race starts
and finishes in the Llwyn Celyn Bach camp site field where camping with showers and bunkhouse are
available, tel 01286870923 www. campinginllanberis.com. Any queries call me tween 07.30 and 23.00 on
07778145144, texts may not get answered till next week, Mike

The race is well established in the Welsh Fell Running calendar and entails running to seven mandatory checkpoints (including Cribyn, Pen y Fan, Corn Ddu and Tor y foel) from the dam at Talybont Reservoir. The race is approximately 30.6km long with 1372m ascent and qualifies as a long race. The race was run in the anticlockwise direction this year with a long climb to Carn Pica to start.

The Brecon Beacons experienced a chilly start to the day and the day provided sunny spells through the morning. Showers were experienced on the higher ground in the morning and the afternoon cloud thickened bringing outbreaks of more persistent rain later in the day. It was cold on the tops at 11 deg C but it felt more like 8 deg C due to the wind and rain.

Hugh Aggleton (MDC) and Dominic Jones (Mercia) had a great little tussle at the front of the race. Hugh took a 1 minute lead at the first checkpoint (Carn Pica), but Dominic clawed him back and overtook Hugh before the Twyn Mwyalchod Trig (642). Dominic pulled out a 45 second lead by Neuadd Reservoir. However Hugh used his local knowledge to his advantage on the ascent up Torpantau and Yr Allt Trig to overtake Dominic. Hugh managed to extend his lead from there and finished 3m 50s up on Dominic in a time of 2hr 55m 16s. Jim Webb (Team Bath AC) finished third overall in a time of 3hr 6m 35s.

Katie Roby (MDC) comfortably won the ladies race in a time of 3hr 27m 15s. Nina Martin (Basingstoke) finished second and Nicola Freeman (MDC) finished third.
Andrew Tuckey (Bridgend AC) won the male over 40 veterans category and Mark Palmer (Achilli Ratti) won the male over 50 veterans category Mark also finished fifth overall in a time of 3hrs 7m 1s. Robert Salter (unattached) won the male over 60 veterans category with a time of just under 4hr 9m 5s.

Whilst Nina Martin (Basingstoke) won the female over 40 category, the prize was awarded to Louise Staples (unattached) because Nina had already won a prize for finishing second overall. Rona Davies (MDC) won the female over 50 category.
The podium finishers and the winners in each age category were awarded with a bottle of wine each.

The male and female team prizes (lowest aggregate position for first three members in each team) were won by MDC. Hugh Aggleton, William White and Mark Ponsford were the male counters whilst Katie Roby, Nicola Freeman and Lucy Baker were the female counters.
The race attracted a large field for a non-Championship race with 59 runners starting the race and 56 completing the full course.

The race organisers, Gary and Dawn Davies would like to thank each of the volunteers. These included Martin and Kay Lucas, Keri James, Derek Thornley, Richard Cronin, John Darby, John & Jane Aggleton, Richard Cronin). John Darby also did some back breaking work in clearing some of the lesser used paths. Thanks to Katie Roby for helping with the registration too. Without them, the race would fail to exist. A BIG BIG thank you.

The race also trialed the Racetek race monitoring system for the first time which was a great success. The system allows both the marshalls and the race organizer to identify the competitors that are expected to arrive at and been to each checkpoint. A big thank you to Adrian Moir and Ellie Salisbury for introducing the system and providing the training.

The organisers remind potential competitors that map reading skills (using map and compass) are necessary for this race.
Gary Davies